Although most apps retail on iOS and Android for a small price, or no price, for that matter, they are big business. And the business is just going to keep getting bigger in 2013.
New data from ABI Research suggests that the people of Earth will download more than 70 billion apps during the course of the year. To put that into perspective, let's remember that Apple's App Store didn't reach 40 billion total downloads until January 2013. It's expected to hit nearly 30 billion in 2013 alone.
As impressive as that is, Google's Android operating system will sell even more, topping 35 billion app downloads. That means Android downloads will make up 58 percent of all global downloads, while iOS will rake in 41 percent. That's pretty much complete domination by the two most popular operating systems, leaving Windows Phones and BlackBerry fighting over table scraps.
On the tablet front, Apple's supremacy will continue to go unquestioned. Almost half of all prospective tablet buyers want to buy an iPad, and that stat will be noticeable on the app front, since 75 percent of all tablet apps will be downloaded on Apple's slate.
Many analysts have been waiting for Android tablets to eat into the iPad's market share, but thus far it's been a slow process. Considering Android smartphones dominate the globe, the question is whether or not Google can convert that popularity into tablet sales.
"The most pressing issue for Google is how much of this handset momentum will ultimately trickle down to tablets, where Apple is holding the fort remarkably well," said ABI analyst Aapo Markkanen to Venture Beat.
The most popular tablet after the iPad is Amazon's Kindle line-up, which is based on Android but uses its own app store to sell apps. Since that means Android's ecosystem is out of luck on the Kindle, the pressure is on Google and its partners to make some headway.
"The question is becoming, is there enough critical mass with Android partners, led by Samsung?" said Jeff Orr, another ABI analyst. "And, are there going to be more vendors who can make a move and break away from the pack?"
(Edited by Lois Heyman)